Serial extremist protester not fond of Francis

Weick did not back up her argument, but she hopes her neon yellow sign will get people thinking. While she does not identify with any Christian denomination, she says that she has a “personal relationship with JesBy Kyle Ferrara

By Kyle Ferrara
Features Editor

Most people in Washington D.C. were beyond thrilled to host Pope Francis this week. Most people in Washington D.C. are not Christine Weick.

Weick is the author of Explain This!, a book which claims to interpret all of the clues hidden inside the Book of Revelation. She traveled to the nation’s capital from her home in Jenison, Michigan, to ask the crowd, “Could the pope be the antichrist?”

Weick believes her claim could be true because of what is prophesied in the Book of Revelation. According to the last book of the New Testament, the antichrist will be a man who claims to the Son of God, who unites all nations. She argues that the pope fits this description. She also calls the pope an arrogant, petulant child for not embracing the lavish lifestyle that some of his predecessors have, and cites that because he is changing church doctrine, he must be the antichrist. She says that the pontiff should not be a public figure, but that Francis embraces the public.

When informed that Pope Francis does not claim to be the Son of God, that he is trying to show solidarity with the poor, that he is not changing Catholic doctrine, and that both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI also were public figures, sheevaded further argument.

“I just think we all need to keep an eye on this guy,” she said.

Weick is not a newcomer to the extremist-protest scene. She has previously made appearances protesting gay marriage, Islam, and reproductive rights. One of her more famous signs read, “Thank your mom today for not being gay.”

That sign, which she carried with her in CITY on Mother’s Day 2014, inspired a supporter of gay marriage to throw a red slushie on her.

In November 2014, Weick crashed a prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington. The prayer service was held to show that members of Christianity and Islam could coincide peacefully.

Weick has also been known for living out of her car. She will be following the pope this week to New York City and Philadelphia.